CHICAGO -- Sears Holdings Corp. cut its second-quarter loss by more than half as profit margins perked up at its Kmart chain, the retailer led by billionaire Edward Lampert said Thursday.

Still, the company's results fell short of expectations. Weak shopper spending and increased competition, especially on food, led to a revenue decline.

Kmart had shown signs of resilience as the economy headed south. But in the three-month period that ended in late July, the bigger competitors fought back, particularly at cheap-chic Target, which put a heightened emphasis on selling groceries. At the same time, big supermarket chains also began dropping prices, hammering Kmart on both sides.

For the three months that ended in late July, the owner of Sears and Kmart lost $39 million, or 35 cents per share. That's better than last year's loss of $94 million, or 79 cents per share last year. Excluding one-time adjustments the current quarter's loss amounted to 19 cents per share.

Bon-Ton slightly decreases 2Q net loss

YORK, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. said Thursday that its second-quarter net loss lessened slightly, even though sales dipped.

For the three-month period, the department store chain said it lost $33.7 million, or $1.91 per share. That compares to a loss of $34.8 million, or $2.04 per share a year ago. Revenue slipped to $608.6 million, down from $609.2 million last year.

Bon-Ton is based in York, Pa. and operates 278 department stores, including the Elder Beerman store in Barboursville.

Natural gas firm's open house draws hundreds

NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. -- Jobs with natural gas drilling companies appear to be in great demand.

Hundreds of people lined up Wednesday in Marshall County to talk with nine recruiters from Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy.

Chesapeake is among the companies rushing to tap the reserves of the Marcellus shale gas field.

Development coordinator Ryan Dean says no jobs were filled immediately, but the eastern region offers work for people with a variety of experience. Jobs range from pumpers, field technicians and rig hands to truck drivers, air equipment operators, mechanics and diesel engine technicians.

Wheeling airport gets $2.5M for improvements

WHEELING, W.Va. -- The Wheeling Ohio County Airport is getting $2.5 million in federal funding to improve runway safety.

Congressman Alan Mollohan and Senators Jay Rockefeller and Carte Goodwin announced the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday.

The funding will be used to replace the airport's medium intensity approach lighting system. The old system was removed during a previous runway project and can't be reinstalled because it no longer meets federal criteria.

HP's net increases 6 percent in last quarter

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hewlett-Packard's net income jumped 6 percent and revenue notched 11 percent higher in HP's last full quarter under now-ousted CEO Mark Hurd.

The numbers reported Thursday squared with preliminary results Hewlett-Packard Co.'s revealed Aug. 6 in announcing Hurd's abrupt resignation.

In his five years at HP, Hurd aggressively cut jobs and other costs and orchestrated a broad push beyond personal computers and printers.

Net income was $1.77 billion, or 75 cents per share, compared with $1.67 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding items, HP would have earned $1.08 per share. That was in line with analysts' forecasts.

Revenue was $30.7 billion, up from $27.6 billion a year ago. Analysts expected $30.4 billion.

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